This talk is dedicated to the memory of Caroline V. Hanna, the first female administrator in Marion County history, and one of my great life mentors. So much of what I am about to share I learned from her. She passed away on February 24, 2024.
Laura and I go way back. She was my supervisor in the spring of '88 when I student taught in England, and she was a graduate student working on her PhD.
Polite Stalking 101: How to Land a Job in America While Student Teaching Abroad
Note that both my work and home e-mail addresses are provided under my name; feel free to contact me at any time regarding your job search process. Just as helping high school seniors with the college application process is my passion, helping students in Dr. Stachowski's Global Gateway for Teachers is my second passion. I would be delighted to meet up with you at Starbucks on the northeast side of Indianapolis next to the Crate and Barrel at the Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing if you are willing to drive up and meet me. E-mail me, and we can set up a time to review your resume, your cover letters, and your game plan for applying for a job before, during, and after your overseas placement.
You are receiving hard copies of the following documents during today's workshop: a sample resume, a sample business letter, and a self analysis sheet to consider prior to an interview to help you anticipate questions that may be asked of you, and a hard copy of my notes for this lecture.
🗝️ Find this blog on my website on your laptops right now and bookmark the page for future reference. You will want to be able to refer to it both here in The States and at your overseas placement.
First, let me outline the steps in applying for the job:
IN REGISTERING FOR YOUR CLASSES NEXT SEMESTER:
🗝️ If the 1-credit pass/fail class is available on how to land a job in teaching, register for this class!
This handout came from a class I took in 1988, and I have been sharing it with generations of students as a quick primer to prepare for an interview:
When I took the course, they helped me construct a resume, and they taped me doing a mock interview and reviewed the tape with me so I could analyze my nonverbal and verbal "ticks" or mannerisms. Aside from my class on methods of teaching secondary English, this was the most practical class I ever took at IU.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR YOUR OVERSEAS PLACEMENT:
🗝️ Create a resume and cover letters. Complete the online application for all of the schools you are interested in applying for prior to leaving for your overseas placement. Send out initial packets of you which include a photograph of you with your Indiana students in your current student teaching assignment, a cover letter conveying an interest in teaching in that building and a clear indication of how they might contact you both overseas and with local contact information (phone number of parents who live in South Bend, for example), and a copy of your resume. Make it clear you are available to do a zoom interview with them if that is their preference.
🗝️ Make cold calls to the schools in which you are most passionate about teaching and ask for a 5-minute interview to simply help them attach a face to an application before leaving and tell them that you know you will be gone during the prime hiring time and simply want them to remember you and let them know how they may contact you during your time overseas. Before you make your cold call, practice, practice, practice until it just rolls off of your tongue. Call your parents and say it. Call your friend and say it. Call your boyfriend/girlfriend and say it. You want to frontload your pitch with the most important stuff. If you start off with a boring opening that doesn't spotlight your best attributes, they may cut you off before you ever got to tell them you are student teaching in Greece! When I did my cold call, I told them I had student taught at North Central and overseas in England and that I had experience with both the Advanced Placement (AP) program and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program because I knew that they would find that impressive.
🗝️ If you are interested in teaching in an independent school, they have a completely different hiring process and window than the public schools. Independent schools tend to recruit in late January/early February through mid March, whereas public schools start around April and continue the hiring process through the entire summer as vacancies arise. You need to attend the annual FORUM Boston sponsors by Carney Sandoe, the primary recruiter for teachers who want to teach in independent schools.
DURING YOUR OVERSEAS PLACEMENT:
🗝️ About 1/3 of the way through your time overseas, send a letter and/or a postcard (which you will make yourself out of a photograph of you with your students in some cool classic shot like you and your students standing in front of William Shakespeare's birthplace on one side and a quick note from you indicating your continued interest in teaching with them upon your return). If you write a letter, keep it simple. Reference your earlier letter sent prior to leaving, briefly indicate how you are growing professionally in your overseas placement, and include a picture of your students and you in the letter. Receiving a letter postmarked from a foreign country will impress your prospective employer and will help nudge them to consider that you might bring a unique perspective to the classroom having spent time student teaching in another country's school system.
🗝️ About two weeks before you return, drop them a final postcard and/or letter noting your eagerness to return to begin the interview process, remind them of how they might contact you, and be explicit about exactly what your schedule of availability will be upon your return. Again, make it clear that you are available to zoom with them at their convenience.
AFTER YOU RETURN FROM YOUR OVERSEAS PLACEMENT:
🗝️ If you didn't work up the nerve to do any cold calls before leaving, you have yet another excuse to break the rules and make a cold call requesting a 5-minute interview because you can let them know that you have now returned from China, Italy, or New Zealand and that you are anxious to convey how this international experience will enhance what you have to share with your students. Back it up with one specific example (EG: creating an international night).
🗝️ OK, if you're just not assertive enough to do the cold calls, at least write your third letter (first one was sent before you left, the second one ---if not a second and third---were sent while you were overseas) letting them know that you are back in the country and are available at their convenience for an interview.
WHEN YOU INTERVIEW:
🗝️ Remember, the interview starts the moment you walk into the building and does not end until the moment you get into your car. When you greet the secretary, be as gracious with her as you would be her boss; she may well have anecdotes to share with him about how you conducted yourself during your 20-minute wait or how warm (or cold) you were when you greeted her.
🗝️ Review the Self Analysis Prior to Employment Interview handout I provided in the packet and have a link to here. Circle the words that best describe you, and think of specific stories from your student teaching experience or other practicums. For example, if I ask you to explain how you manage students, tell me about how you won over your most difficult student. Tell me about Angela Walsh, the girl who wrote "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care" on every blank for her Romeo and Juliet quiz. Tell me that when you found out her parents were going through a bitter divorce that you wrote a little note at the bottom of her latest quiz telling her that you heard about her parents and were here if she needed to talk and how she learned to trust you and wrote you notes about what she was experiencing at home. Substantiate, substantiate, substantiate. I did 85 mock college interviews with my seniors for the college unit when I was an English teacher, and I can tell you from my own personal experience that all of the interviews blend together after a while. The ones that stand out are the ones where the students support their answers with stories. Be specific, and tell me about specific lessons, specific students, etc. Oh, and be ready to tell them what professional journals you read within your discipline and what professional books have made an impression on you---that seems to stump a lot of my colleagues.
🗝️ Determine which specific stories you will share to illustrate your answers. Decide how you will respond to the classic opening question, "So, tell me about yourself" that blindsides some of my seniors. Review your resume and anticipate the types of questions that may be asked of you. (EG: What was it like teaching in a foreign country? How were their schools different? How were the students different? What did assessment look like there? How do you think your student teaching experience in a foreign country will enhance what you have to offer our school system?)
🗝️ If you are going for a 5-minute interview (congratulations for landing it!), go prepared to have cleared your schedule for at least 3 hours. Dress professionally, bring a hard copy of your resume, and bring your portfolio if you have one. Mentally prepare for the whole deal. If it only lasts five minutes, fine, but prepare for a full-blown interview if you win him/her over. If you have landed a zoom call, prepare for it as carefully as an in-person interview.
🗝️ This is KEY. You must send a thank you note within 24 hours of leaving. I usually type mine BEFORE the interview and drive it straight to the post office upon leaving the interview. This is NOT the vehicle to convey how you wished you would have answered a difficult question. It is simply an opportunity to show them that you are on top of your game. You would not believe how many people don't do thank you notes, and it was the tipping point that helped me earn my second job! If my seniors didn't deliver a thank you note to my classroom within 24 hours of their interview, they lost a letter grade from their final interview grade.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TEACHING OVERSEAS:
First, get in touch with Glenn Pihlak. His e-mail address is gpihlak@hotmail.com. He, too, was in the student teaching overseas program and completed his student teaching in the UK. After teaching for two years in Maryland, he hired an international headhunter and landed a job teaching in London. He also taught in Sweden. Glenn is now married and has a family in Ohio. Glenn took teaching overseas to the next level. While I was only interested in teaching overseas for a year, Glenn is teaching there for several and is now on the circuit of teachers who make a living teaching all over the world. He has helped students who have gone through the program before you, and his advice is going to be much more timely than mine when it comes to securing a job teaching overseas. When I went through the process, there was a huge international job fair for teachers that was held every year in Iowa. It has changed. E-mail Glenn, and he'll be happy to help.
Check out the website for the UNI Overseas Recruiting Fair, the definitive fair for teachers who want to teach overseas. They tend to interview in late January/early February every year.
EXPERIENCE WITH MY HOST FAMILY:
Because they were used to local art students boarding with them who truly just wanted a bed and a bathroom, I called a family meeting after the first week to let them know that I really wanted to be part of their family. I wanted to do the groceries with them, pick up the girls after work, go on family trips with them. Although a bit startled by my assertiveness, once the Malyons understood my expectations, it completely altered our relationship and opened a door to an ongoing relationship that has lasted for more than 35 years.
The ice cube story
The magic Notre Dame sweatshirt story
Steak and kidney pie story.
WHAT TO PACK:
A gift for your host family (something of local or national interest is best like a college sweatshirt from your hometown, etc.)
A gift for your school (I brought an extensive book on American literature to donate to the school library
ONE pair of jeans
ONE sweatshirt
No more than a few nice teacher outfits. (You're going to probably end up giving some of your clothes away to make room in your suitcase for gifts and items you purchased, so bring as little clothing as possible. Guys, it's perfectly acceptable to bring one nice suit. I'll share the story about the mustard stain guy from my placement in Cheltenham at Pittville School. I'll also tell you about the chart the girls made of the combination of separates I wore each day.)
minimal toiletries---they will have it if you forgot to pack it
A journal. I'm telling you right now, one cathedral or ruins looks just like the next one. I have a bunch of really cool photos from a trip to Greece of ruins from all over the country but waited too long after returning to label them and couldn't tell you where some of those ruins were photographed. Keep a running record of the names of the castles, cathedrals, etc because they're all going to blend together when you get home. Also, record your experiences in the classroom---they're great to share in future lessons. I have all kinds of embarrassing examples about American and English language differences---I'll tell you about being "stuffed" after I ate the steak and kidney pie and about a kid demanding I give him a rubber in class.
FITTING IN WITH THE STAFF:
They may not be enthused you are there
Talk about being ignored during tea and my two breakthrough moments
The queen mother's visit for the annual horse race and my gushing over standing behind the head boy and girl to take her picture
DEALING WITH MONEY:
Everyone has his/her own personal preference, but I prefer to use my credit card and my charge card. I brought no more than 100 pounds when I studied in Oxford in the summer of 2001 (click here if you want to learn how to get the local branch of the English-speaking union to sponsor a full-ride scholarship including air fare to spend a summer studying at Oxford, Edinburgh, or learning about acting at the Globe Theater in London!) and used my credit card the whole time. You could even sign your parents on as authorized users and have them deposit money in your checking account that you can then access with your debit card.
YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY WHILE LIVING ABROAD:
Tell the story about being intertwined with our backpacks in the train compartment ride from Italy to Germany and the huge (and hot!) football guys from Ohio State slept like babies while their backpacks which had everything including their passports and traveler checks were swiped in the compartment next to us
If you want to blend in, do NOT wear running shoes, and do NOT wear sweatshirts, especially sweatshirts with any words or symbols emblazoned across your chest. That screams American. Wear all black, and don't smile. OK, I'm stereotyping, but it's true. If you're crammed into the London Tube inches away from somebody, just stare straight past his ear with no expression on your face or hold up a book right in front of your face and don't say a word.
MY STORY:
Student taught at North Central High School. When I realized I wanted to teach there, I requested an exit interview with both the principal and the department chair. Did I know what an exit interview was? Nope, I made it up. I figured they would be polite and play along, and they did. I just wanted seat time to convince them to hire me. It worked. I taught at North Central for my first year after getting back from England. And, yes, I believe I sent them postcards from Cheltenham to ensure landing the job when I got back from the UK.
Student taught at Pittville School.
You ARE America while you are there. Everything you do will be carefully noted and mimicked by your students. I'll tell them about my 45-minute walk listening to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and wearing the white socks and having to stand in front of the entire student body to explain that the white socks and running shoes over my tights was NOT an American fashion statement.
Taught at North Central. During my first year, I hand-typed over 100 3-page letters on a typewriter. I experienced 100% rejection. One dear man from Wales hand wrote a letter to me in brown ink explaining that most teachers must teach in their home countries for two years before teaching abroad. When I interviewed for Lafayette Jeff, they told me it was down to me and another candidate and that while they were contemplating which of us to hire, the principal's secretary arrived with my thank you note. They said that finalized their decision, and I was hired.
Taught at Lafayette Jeff. During that year, I bought my first computer and narrowed down my letters that went out to about 50 schools.
Tell them about the mix up with the name of the school and the wrong city listed in editing my generic cover letter and the rejection letter ending with the words, "Tsk. Tsk." The moral of this story is proofread, proofread, proofread.
Tell them about my interview with Caroline and how I landed my 5-minute interview by doing the cold call. She humored me, and that 5 minutes turned into a 3-hour interview including an impromptu interview with the department chair.
Then, the next night at 4 a.m., I got the call from Malcolm Kay, headmaster of American Community Schools (ACS). The same man who cut me off when I tried to sell myself over the phone the week prior to land a job teaching in London. Turns out he DID have a pregnant teacher, and he interviewed me on the spot. He made an offer at the end of the interview, and I asked for 24 hours to consider the offer.
Then, I had my second interview the day after that with Mrs. Hanna when she offered me a SECOND job within 24 hours. I told her my predicament, and she told me it was a no brainer. She encouraged me to take the job at ACS and told me to stay in touch. Words I am sure she learned to regret. I sent her a picture/homemade postcard of my 9th graders and I standing in front of William Shakespeare's house and a few months later another picture/homemade postcard of my 10th graders and I in front of the Dickens' museum in Kent. She finally offered me the job in April, and I asked her to fax me a letter of intent so I could resign from Lafayette Jeff. I had requested a one-year's sabbatical to placate my dad before leaving to teach in London, but I refused to give up that safe job waiting for me at home until I had something in writing from Mrs. Hanna about teaching at Lawrence Central. Verbal promises mean nothing! Avoid resigning from one job without first having something in writing from your new employer.
HOW I HAVE CONTINUED TO DRAW ON MY EXPERIENCE STUDENT TEACHING OVERSEAS:
bulletin boards including "two countries divided by a common language" with American and British idioms listed
photographs of my host family daughters in 1988, 2011, and 2019
the window wiper man story---charting a short story (exposition, narrative hook, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution)
dialect differences (they love to hear the accent if you can pull it off)
studied at Oxford University in 2001 through a scholarship from the Indianapolis chapter of the English Speaking Union
studied in Edinburgh through the SUISS program in 2008 through a scholarship from the Indianapolis chapter of the English Speaking Union
returned to see my host family multiple times including Holly's wedding day My host daughters in the spring of1988:
Holly's wedding in 2011:
A reunion with my host family in England in 2019:
A FINAL NOTE:
You may go through reverse culture shock when you come home. It's normal. Just ride it out. And be sparing with your stories. Families and friends must endure our stories, because that's what they are for, but I realize looking back that my family and friends must have been bored stiff hearing the ice cube tray story for the fifth time. Why do you think I love coming to give this talk every year? You guys are fresh meat! And you actually laugh at my stories rather than roll your eyes. :)
Good luck, and I'm right here if you need some advice.
Best wishes,
Pam Fischer
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